Madison Police Shoot, Kill Woman Who Was Threatening Neighbors

MADISON, Ala. (WHNT) – The Madison Police Department and Madison County Sheriff’s Office are investigating an incident that happened early Saturday morning they say led to police being forced to shoot a woman.

According to Madison Police and from neighbors who contacted WHNT News 19, just before 4 a.m., a woman, identified as Deborah Jo Day, 55, was walking along Michael Avenue with a handgun threatening to shoot neighbors.

“She started yelling, saying ‘You [effing] neighbors are going to die. Your children are going to [effing] die’,” recounted Sandra Barnes, a neighbor who says she noticed Day’s erratic behavior in the past. “I saw her quickly pacing back toward my apartment and at that point I saw she had a gun in her hand. That’s when I called 911.”

Madison Police responded to the scene and according to the statement, they repeatedly told Day to drop her gun. They say she then raised her gun and pointed it toward officers at which point she was shot. Day was taken to the hospital where she later died.

Day’s sister contacted WHNT News 19 and says Day has suffered from mental illness and recently stopped taking her medication. She says she visited Day on Friday and noticed she was acting delusional. She says Day never expressed violent tendencies and didn’t even know Day owned a gun.

The officers involved were not hurt and have been placed on administrative leave, which is required by policy. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting an independent investigation into the incident.